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27 lines
1.4 KiB
Markdown
27 lines
1.4 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: To Be
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draft: false
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tags:
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- language
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- to-be
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summary: The English verb with so many uses
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links:
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wiktionary: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/be
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---
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I've been facinated by #to-be as a word since I started learning #Spanish and noticed that Ser and Estar can be used to separate out a temporary and permanent state of being; "I am sad" has an implicit temporary nature to it (rather than the permanence that can be implied with English).
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## Forms of 'to be'
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The [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Prime) article on E-Prime calls out a number of different uses of 'to be' that impressed me, as I'd not thought about how many variable uses it has!
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- identity (noun-phrase copula definite-noun) The cat is my only pet.
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- class membership: (definite-noun copula noun-phrase) Garfield is a cat.
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- class inclusion: (noun-phrase copula noun-phrase) A cat is an animal.
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- predication: (noun-phrase copula adjective) The cat is furry.
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- ownership: (noun-phrase copula possessive-noun) The cat is theirs.
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- auxiliary: (noun-phrase copula verb-phrase) The cat is sleeping / The cat is being bitten by the dog
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- existence: (medial-proadverb-of-location copula noun-phrase) There is a cat.
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- location: (noun-phrase copula location-phrase) The cat is nowhere to be found.
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The [Wictionary Post](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/be) has 23 unique uses of 'to be' in English I should read through!
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